Big, Heroic Stories: The Snow Queen
by Darthkvzn
Summary: Men and women of Science generally do not mix well with fairy tales, and the Big Hero 6 are no exception. When family is involved, though, some beliefs have to change. From common criminals to Yokai himself, the young heroes have a ton of experience. Let's hope it's enough to take on the Snow Queen. Rated for innuendo/violence. Triple crossover with RotG - DISCONTINUED
1. Chapter 1

**Ok! So I went on vacation for a couple of weeks. Realized a lot of the latter chapters I've written haven't been up to par, kinda rushed. So I did a little spring (summer) cleaning. Sorry if you enjoyed one of the fics I deleted, but I had to do it. This new fic is part of my Marvel Universe. It started out as kind of a plot bunny, and turned into kind of a monster. 35 pages so far, and it's not even halfway written.**

 **That's *also* a new feature! This fic is pre-written, so I'll just update it every monday until it's done. Assuming I can keep writing it, that is. The purpose for this is establishing Big Hero 6 in my Marvel Universe. There will be one or two more, where the team meets another aspect of this Universe.**

 **Fair warning: this fic is a multi-crossover. Other Marvel elements (Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D., etc.) and Rise of the Guardians included, but not necessarily important to the plot.**

 **Enjoy, then! - Darthkvzn**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot of this story. Any other things belong to Disney, Marvel, etc.**

* * *

It all started with a burning building.

Such emergencies were relatively commonplace, usually occurring once or twice a day. Most of the time, San Fransokyo's Fire Department could handle it with little to no problem. On the off chance that they could not, well, they called us.

Big Hero 6. Not exactly the most glamorous or imaginative name, to be sure, but one we'd cheerfully adopted. It wasn't like our superhero names were all that impressive, either: GoGo, Wasabi, Honey Lemon, Fredzilla, Baymax, and myself, Hero.

I know. Hiro Hamada - alter ego: Hero? Not really the best moniker for a team leader. In fact, it might seem kinda childish. And you'd be right, it is - a little girl gave me the name, early on in my career as a superhero. Immature or not, I like it just fine. We made no real attempts at hiding our identities other than using voice modulators and tinted visors, more to give the SFPD an excuse not to bring us helpful vigilantes to justice than anything else, anyway. People liked us, and so did the press, even being courteous enough to use our hero names instead of the civilian ones they no doubt knew about. San Fransokyo was weird, that way.

In any case, our standing in the city was extremely good, after 3 years of hard work, countless bruises and injuries, and sleepless nights. I wasn't at all surprised when the Fire Marshall called us for help with a 'particularly tough' burning building.

Big Hero 6 was not really an offensive team of superheroes; while big names like the Avengers actively sought to take the fight to the villains, we'd made a reputation for being first at the scene to protect civilians, something that we personally thought was much more important than hunting down the bad guys. Of course, we fought criminals; while most of the baddies we fought were your regular, garden variety crooks, enhanced individuals did attack every once in a while, though none more than our archenemy, Yokai.

I felt bad about the fallen Professor Callaghan. I really did. He was a victim of his own self-pity, which I was fairly certain we'd just made a hundred times worse when he discovered his own daughter had preferred to join us as our mechanic and pilot, a few months after the team's formation.

Fortunately, as the years passed, the old man fought us less and less often. Either his age was getting to him, or his funds were dwindling, since, after all, he had to replenish his Microbot supply and keep up with our tech. And so, we were mostly there to avoid civilian casualties in San Fransokyo's day to day life.

It didn't get any easier, I thought as I flew on top of Baymax, no matter how much experience we had. Sealed suits or not, the sight of calcined remains and the screams of the damned were always deeply unsettling. We were very efficient, but even then, some deaths simply could not be avoided. It was a lesson we'd had to learn the hard way. Myself, first, with my brother's untimely passing.

The site of this most recent disaster was an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city, one slated to be condemned within the year.

-"Guess they saved some cash from the demolishing op." -I quipped, doing my best to keep my voice steady. I hated fires with a passion. A few chuckles rang back on my comms.

-"Yeah, well, let's hope no one was inside, or those costs are going up again." -said GoGo, zipping into the scene after me.

Fire ops rarely required more than three or four members of the team; Baymax, obviously, provided medical support and his enormous strength. Fred was, for all intents and purposes, fireproof, so he was the best choice for going into the thick of it -plus, he was very good at bringing victims back from shock. GoGo could transport those we rescued very quickly, Honey Lemon could provide cushioning blobs for jumping out from high places, and Wasabi could provide his pinpoint cutting abilities. Me, well...I had the best sensors. I usually just directed my team, and coordinated with the Fire Dept.

Quickly surveying the scene, I made up a plan. "Alright, guys, listen up: the fire is messing up the sensor data. I think it might have been something that was inside, but I can't be certain yet. Fred, you're on search and rescue. Keep us posted on what you find inside."

My Kaiju-themed friend saluted. "Aye-aye, boss dude." -he said, passing by the firemen who desperately tried to stem the inferno.

I turned to GoGo. "Circle the building, make sure we're not missing anything or anyone. I'll go up and cover the air." -I ordered, and GoGo nodded, skating away.

Patting Baymax, I ordered him up. "Anything out of the ordinary, Baymax?" -I asked. I had a bad feeling about this place, and, after two years of near constant action, I'd learned to trust my gut.

-" _Other than Fred's bio-signature, I cannot find any other life forms inside the warehouse. However, the flames' higher than average temperature may be interfering with my sensors_." -he explained.

I frowned as Fred put in his two cents. "Can confirm, dude. It's hot-a-f in here. Two thousand Kelvin, and going up."

My eyes almost bugged out. "That's almost half the temperature of the sun...anything inside?" -I asked, growing more anxious by the second. There was something fishy going on here. Fires were not supposed to be that hot.

-"Nothing but the world's largest fire pit, dude. Wait, I've got something, in the middle...looks like some kind of half melted door...kinda like a vault?" -he said, walking closer.

-"Get outta there, Fred! We'll check it out after we put out the fire!" -I said, frantically. A giant metal door inside a condemned building, which was doing its best to burn as hot as a star? Too many weird things at once. This wasn't good. At best, it was an odd coincidence. At worst…

-"WHOA- " -was all we heard before the whole building exploded, knocking Baymax and myself out of the sky. I landed on my head, and promptly passed out.

I dreamed of Tadashi, going into the Exposition Hall again. I felt helpless, seeing his heroic face, once more diving head-first into the fire. For a split second, I even imagined him disintegrating before me, something I knew I hadn't actually seen. Just my cruel imagination, punishing me for failing to stop him.

When I came to, it was to hard knocking against my helmet.

-"Hey, dork, wake up. Don't make me make Fred give you CPR." -said GoGo, half annoyed, half worried. Though we weren't exactly past the 'will we, won't we' stage, most people thought we were an item. I kinda hoped we would be, some time when any dates we might go on wouldn't be interrupted by city-wide threats. Ever since the tattoo incident, I had a feeling she thought something along those lines, too.

I tried to ask 'Fred's ok?', but it came out as 'Frs...k?'. GoGo rolled her eyes, nodding. "The suit is _almost_ as hard as his head. He was just shaken up a little by the blast, but he's back on his feet now. We don't really know what happened yet, but you should've seen the fire plume" -she said, offering her hand to help me get up.

I took it, rising slowly. A quick shake of my head got rid of some of the dizzyness, and I surveyed the scene. I'd landed some 50 yards from the building's entrance. The warehouse itself still glowed with heat, but the blaze appeared to have been mostly extinguished. I even spotted Baymax hovering over the place, directing a hose at the worst spots.

-"He checked up on you, before declaring you to be ok. Said he saw something interesting inside - y'know, whatever's left of it, so he's trying to get the fire out asap." -she explained, wincing. She must've gotten caught in some of the blast, since the paint on her armor was partially singed, and she favored her left leg.

-"Didn't run away fast enough?" -I asked, teasingly. She shrugged. "Fireworks looked interesting."

I rolled my eyes. "Only you would think being caught in an explosion would be an interesting experience. One of these days, it's gonna get you in some real trouble." -I warned jokingly.

She scoffed. "I _am_ a superheroine, aren't I?"

I chuckled. She did have a point, there.

-"Hey lovebirds, come over and look at this." -said Fred over the comms, clearly having listened to our exchange. We both groaned, turning slightly pink, but went over anyway.

Our armor was well suited for any environment, so the lingering heat from the fire didn't affect us. Over the years, I'd made all sorts of improvements to the rather crude designs we'd taken Callaghan on with, and I was very proud. No longer were our armors made from flimsy carbon fiber -I'd invented a hybrid material, combining the best properties of plastic and metal, resulting in my patented Plasteel compound. It was relatively easy to produce, and didn't negatively impact the environment, being produced from recicled materials. The licenses helped fund the team, and we were much safer from major injuries now, so it was really a win-win. Plasteel was about a dozen times stronger than Iron Man's original Gold/Titanium alloy, only being surpassed by pure, refined Vibranium as the toughest material known to man.

-"What's up?" -I asked Fred, even as I saw what he meant.

Our friend was standing beside a warped vault door, half melted in some places. The logo on it was rather obvious, though, and I thanked my lucky stars that Tadashi had been a history nut, because otherwise I'd completely miss the significance.

A red, tentacled skull grinned back at us, the emblem devised by Johann Schmidt, better known as the late Red Skull. HYDRA had been revealed to have a presence in San Fransokyo, and so our biggest adventure yet had started.

* * *

 **HYDRA is just the best plot glue out there, isn't it? It's so...global, it can be everywhere, and behind everything. Speaking of plot glue, this is a triple crossover for a reason. Guardians are what I'll be using to break into the whole fairy tale world that surrounds Frozen, but that doesn't mean I'll ignore that Big Hero 6 is really a team of scientists (and Fred). I think you'll like it!**

 **Until next time! - Darthkvzn**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ehhh, I was gonna wait another couple of days to update this...but I felt like it was too long (I also needed something to publish). Anyway, I worry a bit for this chapter. I think it's not too bad, but it might come with...controversial plot. Story's written already, so it's staying like this. I really hope you like it! - Darthkvzn**

* * *

Ironically, if not for the crazy, 'holier-than-thou' fascist attitude, I'd have loved a concept kind of like HYDRA. Unsupervised science and technological experimentation was right up my alley, having been contracted to experiment on the remains of Krei Tech's portal technology, and creating Plasteel before my 16th birthday.

Sadly, the Red Skull (and, y'know, fascist Germany in general) had gone to the extreme, and so, what could've been was nothing but a terrorist organization. I'd heard that the supposedly extinct group had resurfaced recently, after the formation of the Avengers, but that had always seemed far away, never close enough to our city to be an issue. The Triskelion's destruction in D.C. was concerning, of course, and so was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s dissolution, but nothing that could affect the fair citizens of San Fransokyo yet.

We'd been sought out by S.H.I.E.L.D. before, obviously. Nothing overt, only a kind, mild-mannered agent by the name of Coulson that came and invited us to share our personal details with the agency, giving us a friendly warning not to stray from our righteous path. We were somewhat reluctant to do it, but figured if they'd let us be, it made sense not to antagonize them. We didn't hear from them afterwards, even though we were prepared to refuse an offer to join the Avengers, or to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. We'd agreed not to leave our city, for the time being, and to work independently, as we felt that is how we worked best.

Even when the agency was branded as a terrorist organization, it was fairly obvious that this wasn't true. Why would they have sponsored the creation of the Avengers, if they were truly affiliated with HYDRA? It made no sense.

All of this, I mused, while working out what to do about the ruined building covering what appeared to be an underground HYDRA base.

-"Earth to Hiro? Any ideas on what to do with the neo-nazi surprise?" -asked GoGo drily.

I shot her a dirty look, kneeling to inspect the door. It was about three meters in diameter, and weighed about three tons, and only partially covered the gaping hole beneath, having apparently blown off its hinges by the explosion. I called Baymax in with my helmet.

-"Baymax, would you mind lifting this door?" -I asked, and he walked over to it, finding purchase and easily pulling it off. A similarly melted tunnel was revealed, which meant that this was just the tip of the iceberg, as could be expected from HYDRA, I supposed. I called in the rest of the team, and we waited a couple of minutes.

A _whoosh_ overhead brought my attention to our team's Vertijet, which disgorged Honey Lemon and Wasabi, fully armed and armored.

-"What'd we miss, Hiro?" -asked the oldest member of the team.

I shrugged. "Not much. Just a building burning at two thousand Kelvin and a secret HYDRA base."

Honey gasped. " _Órale_. That's...only slightly impressive. And creepy, obviously." -she said, scientific curiosity getting the best of her.

Wasabi pursed his lips, always the cautious one. "I'm guessing you want us to go in there, huh."

-"Yep" -I said, popping the 'p'.

-"Better get this over with, I guess." -said Honey nervously, tapping some buttons on her purse, and grabbing a couple of chem-balls, which she dropped down the chute. It took a couple of seconds, but we heard the soft _pop_ which indicated we could now jump down.

We dropped in, one by one, turning on our headlights. Wasabi had turned on his full helmet, instead of only the visor. Honey, having long since adopted a shorter hairstyle, had no such problem.

The scene would've been gruesome, had the fire been a lower temperature. As it was, only ashes and glass remained of whatever personnel and machines had once stood in the room. Not just there, either: the image repeated itself room after room, until finally, we began to see parts of the base that remained relatively unburned.

There were dead bodies, alright, though not a lot of them. Some wore military fatigues and burned bulletproof vests, while others were clearly scientists, wearing lab coats. Strangely enough, the latter were not burned. GoGo and Baymax took point, as they were the ones who usually remained unaffected by the dead. The rest of us just paled at the carnage. Even if they were terrorists, nobody deserved to be burned to death.

A lot of the machinery was burned, or otherwise damaged, but a couple of the computer terminals remained operational. A scan showed that the place's generator had survived the fire, located a few meters beneath. The base seemed small, which told me that it was likely for a single purpose. What it was, I'd find soon enough -I was quickly downloading every byte off the two remaining terminals.

-"Oh...Hiro? You need to come here. Like, right _now_." -said GoGo over the comms, frantically.

I finished the download, jogging over to the room Baymax and GoGo had discovered. My teammate had taken her helmet off, and she was as pale as if she'd seen a ghost, which, to be fair, appeared to be the exact case.

-" _Tadashi was here._ " -said Baymax, almost confused.

Beside a broken, molten containment cell, smiling brightly on a cracked display, my dead brother's face looked back at us.

The air in my lungs seemed frozen, my feet seemed rooted to the ground, and my jaw seemed to spontaneously unhinge. I'd always dreamed that my brother had survived the explosion. I never dared believe those dreams, though. I knew better than that -GoGo had been a great tutor in that aspect. Having seen her own sister and mother die before her eyes at the hands of her father, she'd helped me cope more than anyone else, even Baymax.

-"Tadashi was here." -repeated my robot, now sounding almost excited.

-"Yeah, he was…" -I said, almost in a trance. I walked over to the still hot frame of the containment cell, tapping the display, which changed to read Project Sunfire - Subject: Tadashi Hamada. I blinked a couple of times. I felt...odd. I'd done my grieving over the past two years, going through every phase of the process, and more than a generous share of low moments. I was at a point in my life where I was actually happy again, inventing, fighting the good fight, and generally having a fun time. Tadashi being alive...I didn't know exactly how to feel. It might've been selfish of me, but I feared for how that might change my life. That, plus the fact that HYDRA of all people had somehow brought my brother back, gave me pause, instead of being cause for celebration.

-"Hiro...are you ok?" -came Honey's concerned voice behind me.

I turned around, my brow furrowed in concentration. "I honestly don't know. It's too good to be true, but at the same time it isn't...why would HYDRA save my brother's life? And what did they have to do to achieve that?" -I said, gesturing at the molten cell.

-"Maybe the data from the computers could clear that up?" -suggested Wasabi. I nodded, walking out of the room. I definitely needed something to do, or I'd run the risk of snapping. The capture device I'd set up was done scavenging, so I pulled it off and stored it in one of my belt pockets.

-"Alright, I'm pretty sure that whatever happened didn't give them time to wipe their drives. I think I've gotten everything, so I'm wiping the system and powering the reactor down." -I said, and my team nodded, though not before sharing a concerned look. I scowled, figuring why they were so worried.

-"Look guys, I know what you're thinking, and I love you guys for being so concerned. But let's not talk about this in the middle of an evil lair, alright? We'll figure things out at the base." -I said, using my best 'leader' tone. The others nodded, filing out.

Sighing, I gave a last look at the display with my brother's face, before activating one of my wrist blasters and shooting the thing in an uncharacteristic fit of rage. HYDRA had a lot of answering to do.

* * *

Having spent the better part of an hour decoding and assembling the data with Fred, whom we'd discovered early on to be an accomplished hacker (he enjoyed messing with rich dudes' flight schedules, amongst other things), I walked into the mission room, where my teammates sat, still donning their suits, helmet-less.

-"So, " -I began, "here's what we know. Apparently, HYDRA survived the death of the Red Skull by infiltrating and regrowing within the Strategic Science Reserve, which we now know as S.H.I.E.L.D. Now, before you ask, yes, that's why the agency fell - HYDRA decided it was time to jump out of the shadows. As far as we can tell, this new version of S.H.I.E.L.D. that the world saw in Sokovia is HYDRA free; some of their comuniqués seemed frustrated that they didn't have the new agency's cover and resources anymore, so at least we might have a nazi-free agency to fall back on. However, HYDRA is still a very real, and very large threat, even employing some enhanced individuals, and, even worse, making new ones of their own." -I explained.

The files from Project Sunfire scrolled across the large, holographic display. "Project Sunfire appears to be just one of these - apparently, HYDRA contracted the tech company AIM to develop a serum they call Extremis years ago, which, when perfected, could heal a person from almost any injury, and, as a side-effect, gave the user pyrokinetic abilities." -I explained, and the formula appeared, as well as simulated footage of the effect on the human body.

Honey frowned. "I've heard about Extremis, before. Doctor Maya Hansen had been developing it for some 10 years or so for the army. It was considered an absurd project, but I thought it showed promise." -she said, thoughtfully.

Honey had a lot of 'idols' within the scientific community, and I remembered her expressing sorrow at the Doctor's death.

She obviously remembered it, too, because her expression turned downcast. "Dr. Hansen died about a year ago, though, and AIM was shut down after Tony Stark revealed they'd been behind the whole thing with the President and the Roxxon platform."

I nodded. "Apparently, Dr. Hansen was resurrected with her own invention, and forced to work under HYDRA to perfect it. Part of her research was used in some other projects, while the Doctor herself was instructed to correct the serum's flaws and perfect its pyrokinetic properties. She did, but she also created a sort of anti-serum, which she applied on herself, so she could commit suicide. For good, this time." -I said, wincing in sorrow for the death of a fellow scientist. "She denied them any hope of creating any more perfected Extremis, that way." -I finished.

GoGo frowned. "How does your brother fit into this, though? From what you're saying, this is something that's been going on in the last two years, and he's been...gone...for two." -she pointed out.

I cringed, not just because talking about 'Dashi's death was still a touchy subject. "This is where it gets...interesting. Or plain weird, depending on your stance on cryptozoology and urban legends."

This piqued their interest. Wasabi raised an eyebrow. "Say what, now? You mean, like, el Chupacabras or Bigfoot?" -he asked, dubiously.

I pursed my lips. "Sort of. I don't know how much you know about HYDRA, but they've always been big on the occult. It was a big thing in Hitler's Reich, apparently. The Red Skull was particularly axe-crazy about Norse mythology, wanting to harness 'the power of the gods', which we now know as the Tesseract. Of course, Norse gods actually turned out to be sorta real, albeit aliens and not exactly divine beings, so he might've been onto something, but I'm still kind of reluctant to believe the next bit."

GoGo rolled her eyes. "Are you getting to the point anytime soon, or do I have to ask Fred to explain instead?" -she asked impatiently, and I couldn't help but grin a little.

Fred, who'd stayed quiet until then, grinned widely. "Ok, dudes. How much would you say you believe in Santa Claus?" -he asked, and everyone blinked in confusion.

GoGo pinched her nose, and Wasabi patted her in the back. "You kind of walked right into that one." -he said, though he backed down once GoGo glared at him. I rubbed my temples.

-"As much as I hate to say it, Fred isn't joking. HYDRA has been exploring the theory that mythological figures such as the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy are not just real, but actually immortal guardian spirits meant to protect children from evil forces such as, say, the Boogeyman." -I said, doing my best to keep a straight face.

Abigail laughed out loud, breaking the stupefied silence. Then she realized everyone was looking at her strangely, and covered her mouth. "Sorry, I thought Hiro was joking." -she apologized.

Wasabi just shook his head. "Which crackpot came up with that theory?"

I pursed my lips. "It's all in the files. Apparently, they've been following the work of a young writer and historian called James Bennett, who's been widely accepted amongst academic circles to be a bit of a nutjob. I hear Tumblr loves him, though." -I stated, drily.

Honey, clearly not buying any of it, decided to hopefully make some sense of it all. "So...your brother?" -she asked.

I grimaced. "Apparently, HYDRA found one of these spirits inside a glacier in Norway, while still under S.H.I.E.L.D. cover. They've been studying it in secret for ages, fascinated that, apparently, the creature has remarkable healing abilities, even in a catatonic state, aside from...magic ice powers." -I said, feeling only slightly stupid for doing so.

-"They want to control it, but don't know that they can, and so they wanted some way to counter it, in case they lose control of their asset. And that's where Tadashi came in: using some kind of future predicting algorithm they called Project Insight, they figured out he'd either be a very useful asset, or a huge threat, which, honestly, I can't understand. Whatever the case, they had him followed for a few months. They ummm...they r-recovered his b-body, from the Exposition Hall, just in case. It looks like they, uh, have a habit of doing that…" -I said, struggling to keep my composure.

My team's incredulous looks softened, and GoGo grabbed my hand, soothingly. Fred, as always, kept the mood bright. "He got better, though! Extremis totally worked, and it blew up in their face, big time!" -he said, cheerfully.

I nodded, smiling. "It did. Tadashi was not ok with working for HYDRA, and he defied them at every step. Even when they got him to comply, by threatening to hurt us (as if they could), he got along with the spirit, even started to get her to rebel a little bit. The project was deemed a failure, and Tadashi was recalled to the small base we just visited, to be contained until a way for him to obey was found. They obviously didn't find it, nor could they contain it. That giant fire plume GoGo saw was probably him, escaping." -I said, proud of my brother.

Wasabi pursed his lips. "I hate to be the downer, here, but he did kill those people. I don't know that he meant to, and I'm sure no one will miss HYDRA troops, but the Extremis serum clearly turned him lethal. We gotta find him, before he hurts himself or others." -he said.

I flashed a look of annoyance, but I understood the logic. We had trouble using our suits, at least at first. We didn't actually have superpowers. Tadashi's had been forced upon him, so he might've been confused, or worse, angry. And, well, we'd studied other superheroes. We'd seen footage of the Hulk on a rampage, and it certainly wasn't pretty to apply that scenario to my brother.

-"You're right. We were going after him anyway, of course, but now he might be dangerous, and as heroes, it's our responsibility to take the danger out of the equation." -I said, resolutely.

GoGo nodded. "Tadashi Hamada is our friend, and the reason we became superheroes, not to mention Hiro's big brother. I don't think it needs to be said, but we're in." -she said, cracking her knuckles. The others agreed heartily.

I smiled brightly. I was so very fortunate to have such awesome friends. Fred pitched in, almost bouncing with joy. "Alright! Let's go catch us a crackpot theorist!"

* * *

About an hour later, I found myself taking inventory in my room. Our base, built on Akuma Island, was smaller than the original Krei Tech testing site, but there was still enough room for everyone of us to bunk after a hard day's work. It was where we gathered for everything from mission briefings, to pizza night. None of us had a job per se, but we all did some freelance work on the side, mostly for Krei himself.

The man was...a capitalist, through and through. But he did have a better handle on morality, these days. He seemed to feel incredibly guilty about Abigail's incident, which he should be, of course. He'd actually gotten us in on Project Silent Sparrow, where we learned that the portal technology had been reverse engineered from the Chitauri-made one, in New York. We weren't exactly comfortable with working tech that had taken hundreds of innocent lives, but we figured, if anything, we could help make this incredible technology safer, and, as a plus, it was a blast to work with. Not literally, of course. Most of the time.

All in all, I couldn't really complain. The base ran smoothly, our suits were constantly upgraded, and it was a sweet place to crash on, if Baymax and I couldn't make it to Aunt Cass at the end of the day.

-"You look like you really love that wall, dork." -said GoGo, snapping me out of my reverie. She was standing nonchalantly against the door frame, wearing her armor's undersuit. I couldn't help but think that, before our...encounter...a few months ago, she'd be wearing nothing underneath.

Curse my stupid repressed hormones. Superhero work left zero time for any of those kinds of thoughts, let alone actions.

-"Jealous?" -I quipped, not missing a beat.

She huffed. "Walls don't move, much less move fast. Plus, I'm not that flat." -she said, crossing her arms. She certainly wasn't. Not that I knew that for a fact. Oh, wait, I did.

Damned if I didn't enjoy our weird little chats. Fred and I shared a love for comic books and science fiction. Honey enjoyed making things explode in new and exciting ways, and I was happy to provide my expertise. I ate anything and everything that Wasabi cooked. And Abigail and I were both huge bot fight enthusiasts (read: nerds). But the odd, half-flirting conversations I only shared with GoGo were probably my favorite part of life at the base.

-"Y'know, there are groupies that'd love to get that look you keep wasting on inanimate objects." -she drawled.

I shook my head, shuddering. "Don't remind me. A superhero base surrounded by water was the best decision we ever made." -I said, recalling the throng of fans that often followed after the smoke cleared on our battlefields.

-"Yen for your thoughts?" -she asked, after a moment of quiet.

I snorted. "Is that a commentary on monetary devaluation, or are my thoughts really that worthless?"

She smirked. "Whichever gets your attention away from your one true love. You could do better than that dull colored Plasteel."

I chuckled, but the day's events were getting to me. I lay down in my bed, sighing. "It's just...too good to be true, y'know? I'm half tempted to ruin my atheistic streak and call it a miracle. And some things don't add up, either. 'Dashi loved martial arts for one reason only: discipline. They gave him some peace of mind, with the hectic life I made him live. What we saw down there...there was no discipline there. It's almost like a botched phoenix metaphor, right? He died, but an entirely different person was reborn from the ashes…" -I trailed off, only then noticing a few tears had started to fall.

GoGo had noticed, her expression turning sad. She came and took residence beside me, and I felt my cheeks heating up when her thigh brushed against mine..

-"Death...it changes people, Hiro. We're just used to the changes being limited to friends and family. I don't think Tadashi is a different person, though. Think about it: how would you feel if you were trapped by people who regularly threatened to kill those you love? Your brother was one of the nicest men I ever knew, but even the Pope sins, sometimes. Add to that some actual fire coursing through your veins...maybe the rage was just too much, and he snapped. We've all done it before…" -she said, and I looked down.

I knew she was recalling her own dark past, but I couldn't help being reminded that I'd almost become a murderer by proxy, two years ago in this same place. I'd been forgiven by everyone, even Baymax. Everyone except myself, and that wasn't likely to change anytime soon.

-"None of us are expecting you to be fine, or even just ok, right now. In fact, we're all kind of worried that you're taking this so well. But y'know what? We trust you Hiro. Why else would we follow a 17 year old into battle, even if he was a genius?" -she said, and I managed to smirk.

-"So you do admit I'm a genius, huh?" -I teased.

She rolled her eyes. "Out of all that, that's what you got. Don't let it get to your head, dork. On this team, it's kind of a common adjective." -she said, and walked out of my room.

Noting my uplifted mood, I couldn't really disagree.

* * *

 **So...good? Bad? Unbearably terrible? I do so hope you liked it at least a little. There's a lot more where this came from. Any questions? Suggestions? See you next time! - Darthkvzn**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok! Now we get to the Guardians centric portion of this story! Lots of cool plot details in this chapter, including why San Fransokyo is a thing, and how it came to be from the original San Francisco. Also, fair warning. I don't know what the timeline is on Rise of the Guardians, but I made it a thing of the past. As in, Jamie is in his early thirties in this story, and an accomplished writer/conspiracy theorist. Read on! - Darthkvzn**

 **Oh, yeah, before I forget. I went and modified the last chapter, added about 900 words to improve the story pacing. Go ahead and check that out!**

* * *

Burgess could really only be accurately described with one word: quaint.

Except for Fred, none of us had really travelled more than a few miles from San Fransokyo, and it showed. Our hometown was a big oddity, being the world's only city representing and mixing two entirely different cultures, and doing so with style. San Fransokyo was once, of course, the city of San Francisco, California, until a massive quake razed most of the city to the ground in 1959, obviously shocking the nation with the incalculable material damage, and the almost unprecedented loss of life.

Relief aid came from all over, of course, but none so intense as that of Japan, something that surprised the entire world, seeing as how just fifteen years before, the country they were helping had dropped two nuclear weapons on its soil. Some people were wary, of course, but President Kennedy and the U.S. government decided to take a leap of faith, trusting the Japanese people to do the right thing. The results were astounding: the damage to the city, which would've taken at least a quarter of a century to repair, was fixed in less than a decade, with hundreds of thousands of migrant Japanese workers dutifully restoring the fallen city to its former glory, and beyond. In honor of these actions, it was almost unanimously decided to dedicate the rebuilt city to a new bond of friendship with the people of Japan, and so San Fransokyo was founded.

Our city was beautiful and grand. A bit presumptuous at times, maybe. Seeing more of the United States was kind of a culture shock, especially since the Midwest seemed to be an entirely different civilization. One with an appreciation for flatness, and green.

The team took the Vertijet, piloted by Abigail, and escorted by Baymax and myself. Ever since that first flight with my best friend, I'd never wanted to fly the 'regular' way anymore. It just wasn't anywhere near as exciting. Plus, I had the excuse of being tactically sound as an escort. Sue me.

-"We're right over Burgess, Hiro. Where do I put her down?" -came Abby's voice over the comms.

I scanned the area, looking for a secluded landing spot. "There's a clearing about a mile outside of town. Land there, but try to keep it quiet. I don't know what to expect from the locals, so I'd prefer we go incognito." -I decided. Abby gave a quick roger, silently angling the aircraft to the designated LZ.

A few minutes later, we were all dressed in civilian clothing, though we had our suits and weapons attached to Baymax's armor for an emergency drop, if needed.

-"Sorry buddy, but you're going to stand out like a particularly huggable sore thumb." -I said, apologetically.

Before he could answer, GoGo scoffed. "Him? We're not exactly going to blend in with the scenery, here. I'll bet you good money that 95% of the population in this town is whiter than Baymax."

-"That's...kinda racist." -said Honey sheepishly.

-" _Also, inaccurate. It is statistically improbable that even a minority of Burgess's population suffers from albinism or another condition that could cause a paler skin tone than my specific shade of white. Preliminary scans and census data show that 97% of the town's population is, in fact, Caucasian in skin tone_." -informed my robot.

Everyone burst out laughing. "I think that one flew right over your head, buddy." -I said.

Baymax cocked his head. " _I will analyze this, and modify my humor/sarcasm subroutines accordingly._ "

I shook my head. "Ah, yeah. You do that, just try not to feel lonely."

Baymax blinked. " _I am a robot. I cannot feel loneliness._ " -he quipped.

I laughed. "Alright, then. Us puny humans will try not to miss you too much, then. Come on, guys. We've got a conspiracy to solve."

* * *

As it turned out, GoGo was absolutely right. In a town with a population in the low thousands, we were immediately recognized as foreign. The locals were friendly enough, though some scowled a little when we told them we were looking for James Bennett.

'Jamie?', they'd say, 'Kid's grown now, and he's still spouting that fairytale nonsense. Best stay away, or the crazy'll stick to ya, like it did his wife'

Still, one very friendly, very _large_ store owner, who introduced herself as Cupcake, kindly offered to guide us to his house, on the outskirts of town, oddly enough, near a similar clearing to the one we'd landed on.

-"Jamie's always been a sweet guy. Would've had my eye on him, but everyone knew, with Pippa living right across, no one else had a chance. That, plus his line of work, and, well, it was almost predestined. He's a great writer, and still a good friend." -she said, fondly.

I tuned her out, as she started to describe the town, and the peaceful life she led. I'd expected the derisive comments we got at first, but not Cupcake's description. I figured the man was a recluse, spending his days in front of a cork board laden with red string and blurry photos. That he seemed like a friendly, family man was a good omen. Maybe we'd be able to obtain some more information than we expected.

I almost ran into Cupcake as she stopped in front of a winding road, which led to the largest house I'd seen so far. It had an impressive iron gate, decorated, oddly enough, with snowflake designs. "Here we are! Overland Manor. Prettiest house in Burgess, and home to the Bennetts. Say hi to Jamie for me, will you? I gotta go man the fort again." -she said. We bid her farewell and rang the bell.

-"Just a minute!" -shouted a female voice, accompanied by a shrill, happy shout from a couple of kids. I hadn't noticed, but the front lawn had a few toys strewn about. From the types of toys, I mused that there might be a boy and a girl.

A pretty, young, redheaded woman opened the front door, her hair a little wild around her face. She looked like she was blushing, so we'd probably caught her roughhousing with the children.

-"Hello, there, I'm Pippa Bennett. Who might you be?" -she asked amiably, though a little out of breath. Behind her leg, a small girl with similar hair shyly peeked at us.

-"Good afternoon, ma'am. I'm Hiro Hamada, and these are my friends, GoGo, Wasabi, Fred, and Honey. We're from San Fransokyo, and we'd like to talk to your husband." -I said with a small smile.

The woman cocked her head. "San Fransokyo, huh? That's quite a long way you've come...and I imagine a very different place than here. Might I ask why you want to talk to Jamie?" -she asked. I couldn't fault her, we did seem suspicious.

-"It's related to his work. We believe it might lead us to find a lost friend of ours." -I said, then decided to be honest. "We're superheroes, ma'am. Big Hero 6, a team." -I said.

The woman's eyes widened. "I, umm...we don't know all that much about superheroes, here. Too small a town, you know? But I guess it must be important, then. Come in." -she said, pressing a button behind her, and the gates opened.

* * *

-"Make yourselves at home, please, while I go wake my husband. I hope you don't mind the mess, you guys caught us on playtime." -she said, apologetically. I resisted the urge to snort. Even though there were a few toys lying on the floor, this woman clearly didn't have my same definition for 'mess'. The base's tech lab might as well have been a war zone, compared to this 'mess'.

-"You have a beautiful home, Mrs. Bennett. It's no issue." -said Honey. I snickered a little. She was almost as bad as me.

The woman smiled. "Thank you. Jack, Lizzie, help me wake your daddy up, will you?" -she asked, and two little kids ran laughing in from another room and up the stairs, their mother sighing behind them.

We sat in the large sofa, listening. There was some excited screaming from the children, and some water running through the pipes. Then, the man of the house came down the stairs.

He looked somewhat haggard, obviously having just woken up. He had intelligent, curious brown eyes, and crazy hair sticking out every which way. He wore a bathrobe over a faded, red shirt with a huge NICE stamped on it, and a green pair of pajama pants. The outfit was comically completed by a pair of rather adventurous looking bunny slippers, which I was fairly sure were custom made. No rabbit had a right to look that daring.

-"Well, this is an interesting surprise! I must say, I wasn't expecting a superhero team to visit anytime soon!" -he said. His mannerisms reminded me of a really hyperactive little kid who'd just so happened to have had a few espresso shots and a pound of sugar.

-"Er...hello, sir, it's nice to meet you. I'm Hiro Hamada, and these are…" -I started and he almost jumped over, shaking my hand enthusiastically.

-"Yes! Yes, Hiro Hamada, and company, all the way from San Fransokyo! Wasabi, Honey Lemon, Fredzilla and Hero himself! Wait, where's Baymax?" -he said, looking over our heads as if he'd somehow missed my bud.

We all looked at each other. Family man, yeah. _Also_ kind of a crackpot.

-"Baymax stayed behind on our landing zone. We didn't want to attract too much attention." -I said.

He raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, as his wife entered the room. I noticed his behavior seemed to mellow just a bit, to somewhat normal levels when he saw her come in.

-"Ah, that's a, uh, shame. I'd quite like to meet him! Another time, perhaps. My darling wife here said you were looking for me because of my work?" -he asked, somewhat incredulous.

I nodded. "Yes, sir, we are. I'm...not sure it's the kind of thing that should be discussed openly." -I said, cautiously looking at his wife.

He shook his head. "Nope, not havin' it. Pippa knows what I know, so spill. If you'd please." -he said.

I sighed. "Very well. About a day ago, we discovered a hidden base beneath a burning building." -I said, recalling the events. "It belonged to HYDRA."

The man straightened. "Oh, my." -he said, worriedly.

I perked up. "You know them?" -I asked.

He nodded, absently. "I'm a historian, Mr. Hamada, regardless of what my detractors might say. I've dedicated the last 22 years of my life to the study of legends, yes, but one has to link these to actual events, if one hopes to be believed, eventually. Contrary to popular belief, I don't believe every myth to be true, but some do come from actual characters or events, found in history. If one looks in the right place, of course. Johann Schmidt believed that, and he was ultimately proven right, wasn't he? I've seen the God of Thunder blasting volts around." -he explained.

I looked at my team, who'd adopted a guarded expression. Mr. Bennett seemed to notice that, because he shook his head. "Oh, no, no. The man was as mad as one can get. Don't think I approved of what he did. I merely point out that all myths come from somewhere. But I don't suppose you're here to ask my opinion on neo-nazi terrorists. What might I help you with?"

I pursed my lips, but decided to go through with it. Pulling up a portable holo-projector, I displayed the relevant data I wanted Mr. Bennett to help us make sense of.

Mrs. Bennett gasped. "Jamie, isn't that…?" -she asked, agitated.

Jamie nodded, grimly. "The Snow Queen, Elsa of Arendelle. Last known regent of the City-State. Rumored to be cursed and/or blessed with the magical ability to control and create ice. Died early 19th century. Murdered, I believe, under mysterious circumstances." -he said, almost like he was reading it off a book.

I perked up. "I've never heard of the place, but it's got to have some connection to our case." -I muttered, almost to myself.

Mr. Bennett shook his head. "Arendelle is a myth, Mr. Hamada, and so is the Snow Queen. All I told you is my own research, one that I've never been able to complete. Though a handful of historical documents found in Germany mention the place, it seems they thought of it as a sort of El Dorado or Shangri-La. A wondrous city, never meant to be found. It's quite odd, though, that a city would have such a status in that time period, which is, of course, relatively recent. Even looking past that, there is no record of any Queen Elsa, or even a royal family anywhere. The only reference to the Snow Queen comes from Norwegian folk tales."

I slumped, disappointed. Then thought something didn't add up. "How'd you know she was named Elsa, then?" -I asked, suspicious.

The man seemed to realize his blunder, and cursed under his breath. He looked like he was weighing his options, when he looked at his wife, who shot a meaningful look back. He sighed, looking back at us.

-"I suppose you're not a team leader for nothing. I didn't know her name was Elsa. Not exactly. I was told, by a friend." -he paused, like he wasn't sure whether to continue or not. He decided to, apparently. "A friend who knows her. Or, rather, knows _of_ her."

I blinked, processing this. How would someone know of this supposed Queen, if no one else had discovered anything in the last few couple of centuries? Unless…

-"This...friend. Is he one of these...spirits you've...researched?" -I asked cautiously.

He looked at me seriously. "Tell me, Mr. Hamada. Why do you wish to find the Snow Queen?" -he asked.

I hesitated. "A friend of ours...he died, trying to save someone from a burning building. We discovered HYDRA took his body, and brought him back to life, but he escaped. We believe was meant to become an asset they could control, alongside the Snow Queen, but that obviously didn't work. He's dangerous now, though, and it's our duty to get him back to safety, before he hurts himself, or others." -I said.

He shook his head. "While I do offer my condolences, and hope your friend is indeed alive and well, that is not what I asked. Why do you wish to find the Snow Queen?" -he asked again.

I got annoyed. What did he mean, that's not what he asked? "I just want to get my brother back, ok!?" -I snapped.

The silence in the room turned deafening once I realized my blunder. However, Mr. Bennett smiled, as if I'd gotten it right. He rose, and so did his wife, and began walking upstairs, motioning for us to follow.

-"Family, then. Come with me, Mr. Hamada. We have much to discuss."

* * *

 **So! How do you guys think the world of Frozen will fit in with this world I'm building? Who killed the Snow Queen? All of these questions and more will be answered soon! Also, Science vs. Myth. Who wins? - Darthkvzn**


	4. Chapter 4

**Something, something, author note. - Darthkvzn**

* * *

If I thought his appearance was some kind of indicator of just how crazy the man was, I was absolutely mistaken. It was his workshop that really showed it.

He didn't have the board covered in red string, no, but he did have every wall covered with chalkboard, which in turn was completely filled with scribbles, maps, runes, and dates. Tables lined the walls, laden with every kind of bits and baubles you could've imagined and more, and, in the center, a very large holographic display showed an ice covered mountain with a small castle-like structure attached to it.

-"Welcome to the Imaginarium, ladies and gents. This might not be quite where the magic happens, but it's where I make sense of it all, at least." -he said, plopping down on a rolling chair towards a hidden keyboard, which he began to furiously tap on.

Mrs. Bennett looked sheepishly at us. "He's very excited; he doesn't usually get any new visitors up here, much less superheroes on a quest. Very sorry to hear about your brother, by the way."

I nodded. "He's better now, so it's fine. Your husband certainly seems...creative." -I said, awkwardly.

She must not have noticed, because she just nodded enthusiastically. "That's why I fell in love with him. He might not be anywhere near normal, but he's got this boundless curiosity, and a drive that no naysayers have been able to stop."

I didn't know what to say to that, but thankfully, I didn't need to figure it out.

-"Alright, Big Hero 6. Should I assume you're familiar with my work?" -he asked, expectantly.

Wasabi piped up. "Just the basics, sir."

GoGo added, sarcastically. "Oh, and that you're a Tumblr favorite, apparently."

Mr. Bennett scowled. "First of all, no more of this sir/mister/last name nonsense. I'm Jamie, and that's how I'd like to be called. And secondly, Tumblr is scary. Let's not talk about that."

We shrugged. He did have a point.

-"In any case, the simple explanation for what I do is that I thoroughly research myths, in an effort to distinguish legend from reality. I've managed to disprove a few of these, such as the Loch Ness monster, and the _Chupacabras_. They're nothing more than wild imaginings based on real animals, unfortunately. But some others...I know for a fact that they exist." -he said, then pulled up a chest from underneath the holo-display.

Inside were a few odd items, such as a broken shepherd's crook, an ornate, gold and velvet cylinder with an image of a boy's face on it, two empty snow globes, two vials filled with what looked like sand, though one was golden and the other one black, and a boomerang, carved with egg motifs.

-"I've collected these, over the years. Even though I've made it my life's mission to eventually convince a large part of the population that these spirits are real, I haven't dared to show these yet. The contents of this chest are akin to the relics of a saint; these are items of power, wielded by these spirits once before, discarded and/or gifted for my research." -he explained.

I walked towards the chest, skeptically. I picked up one of the halves of the crook, about to state my disbelief, when the weirdest thing happened. The gnarled wood, which should've simply been at a normal temperature, was instead chilling to the touch. So cold, in fact, that my fingers were beginning to turn blue with frost.

I dropped the broken staff, yelping indignantly. "What the heck is that!?" -I shouted, rubbing my fingers for heat.

Jamie smirked mischievously, like he knew that would happen, the traitor. "You just touched the Staff of the Chilled One. It used to belong to Jack Overland Frost, eternal spirit of Winter, and Guardian of Fun." -he said, reverently.

I stayed silent, my mind working overtime to make sense of the nonsensical words the man had just uttered. My teammates must've been in a similar state, judging from the silence.

Well, all except one. "Ok, that's about enough. I'd been willing to go along until you said that. There is absolutely _no_ way that a broken stick belonged to a spirit, much less one whose name is _Jack Frost_." -GoGo said hotly.

I tried to get her to calm down, even to grab her hand and make her touch the staff, but Jamie held up a hand, calmly.

-"There's always non-believers, Hiro." -he said, then turned to her. "Young lady, you live in a world of gods, monsters, and heroes. Is the existence of a winter spirit all that hard to believe?" -he asked, somewhat sternly.

-"Yes! There are no gods, and there are no monsters. The supposed _gods_ of the Norse were super advanced aliens! For all we know, so were all the other deities of other civilizations. It's _advanced_ science, but it's still science! Spirits do _not_ exi-" -she ranted on, until she was abruptly stopped.

By a snowball, of all things.

The icy projectile splat against her face, covering her hair and clothes with rapidly melting snow. The rest of the team and I were immediately on our guard, but the thing seemed to have come from thin air.

Even stranger, a giggle erupted from GoGo, who immediately covered her mouth, alarmed. More snowballs came, seemingly from random, invisible attackers, and we all tried to dodge or look for cover. I idly thought the live fire drills at the base had done us some good, as we rarely got hit once we figured out we were under...'attack'.

-"Whatever it is you're doing, you better stop that, right now!" -I said, pulling up a wrist-blaster, a weaker version I hid on my wrist watch.

Jamie smirked, seemingly unfazed. " _I_ am doing nothing but observing. A certain spirit, though...well, he's not overly fond of non-believers." -he explained, cryptically.

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

He smiled. "None of my research, none of my work means a single thing without something very important, Hiro: belief. Only those who believe in what I do have a chance to see for themselves."

Well, that made no sense.

I had once believed in fairytales, like many other children. I'd expected gifts from Santa Claus on Christmas Day, and an egg hunt on Easter. Of course, then, I'd grown up, and figured out that the presents under the Christmas tree came from Aunt Cass's wallet, and the eggs were painted and hidden by 'Dashi.

I was almost 18 years old, now. A month or so away, in fact. I'd never really thought of stories like those in a long time. Hero work didn't leave a lot of room for that, either. Even if it had, the years before had not been kind to mt inner child - bullying, financial troubles, and Tadashi's death had made sure of that. If nothing else, making like I did believe for a second might make for a small 'take that' to a terrible childhood.

The white-haired kid balancing atop the shepherd's crook with an armful of snowballs and a smirk on his head seemed to agree.

* * *

 **Some action, next chapter! I'm sleepy so, any questions, send me a review or PM, and I'll answer to the best of my abilities. Otherwise, until next time! - Darthkvzn**


	5. Chapter 5

-"Holy crap." -I breathed.

The boy with the white hair mock-winced. "Ohhh, language, dude." -he said, half-laughing.

He continued to let the snowballs loose, one after the other, giving a swipe of his staff when he ran out of ammo. More appeared when he did so, glowing blue for a second before sailing away, looking for a target.

I shook my head out of its stupefied state, looking at my team frantically try to dodge the projectiles.

-"GUYS! Calm down. Focus on what you've learned so far...use those big brains of yours." -I told them, pointing towards the Winter Spirit.

-"Good advice. Don't stop them because of me, though, I'm having a _lot_ of fun. Not every day I get to shoot superheroes." -he said, brightly. He had a strange voice, deeper and more mature than what his face and general mannerisms suggested. His hair was the color of freshly fallen snow, his skin was the palest tone I'd ever seen, almost like that on a dead body, and the sun's light revealed very fine patterns of snowflakes on it. He wore a garment which looked halfway between a hoodie and a poncho, and non-descript pants, both a deep blue with white details - wind and snow patterns. Strangely enough, he wore no shoes, his rather large feet gripping a wooden staff much like the broken one in the chest, but covered in frost, with monkey-like precision.

His eyes, though, were his most notable feature. They were a bright, electric blue at a glance, but if you looked hard enough, you'd see white spots dancing across the intense color, like a blizzard in the night.

-"Jesus." -breathed Wasabi, apparently seeing the boy, too.

The spirit cocked his head. "I'm not _that_ old, I don't think. Never met the guy. Though I hear he was nice enough to chat with. Prone to fits of righteous fury, sometimes. Great at parties, I believe." -he said, smoothly.

Honey yelped, seeing the dude, too. Wasabi and I just blinked, awed at the sheer ridiculousness of this situation.

Fred, who was grinning like a madman, began to pick what snowballs hadn't been completely obliterated, and started throwing them back at Frost, who apparently took it like a challenge.

-"Oooh, competition! Let's take this outside!" -he said, then leaped back through the window, leaving behind a powerful gust of wind and snow that blew papers away. Jamie, who'd been quietly smirking so far, protested at this.

I ran out of the house, my team following behind me, and I saw that Baymax had apparently flown over, in full armor. When he spotted us, he ejected the pack with our own suits, which we ran to and put on in a manner of seconds. Once we were ready for a fight, Frost floated down, smirking like he was having a field day. He flew away, making sure we kept up, and eventually we made it to the clearing. GoGo was apparently still in denial, following us uncertainly.

Frost landed, a few feet in front of me.

-"Tell you what, heroes. You beat me to the ground, and I'll stop throwing snowballs at your faces." -he challenged.

Baymax landed beside me with a heavy _thud_ , and we all assumed battle stances. "And you'll help us get to the Snow Queen?" -I asked, warily.

He raised an eyebrow, but his smile didn't waver. "That old crone? We'll see. That is, if you think you can beat me!" -he said, somersaulting into the air, where he waved his staff, which glowed with frost.

Gale force winds ripped at us, a miniature blizzard generated just for this battlefield. I mounted on to Baymax, taking to the air with a blast. We all scattered, trying to assess the situation.

-"Alright, listen up. This guy looks like serious business, but we don't know just how serious. Let's take some potshots at him, see how he reacts." -I ordered.

-"What guy!? What are you talking about? And why the _hell_ did a blizzard just spontaneously appear on top of us!?" -asked GoGo frantically.

I groaned. "GoGo, stop being so damn close-minded and believe, already! We're under attack by a spirit, Jack Frost!" -I said, narrowly dodging a lightning-like beam of frost, which impacted on a tree and immediately spread. _Noted_ , I thought.

Visibility being significantly reduced, I figured my best bet was to climb and try to locate the source of the problem. Jack Frost was twisting and twirling above it all, shooting those tendrils of ice at my teammates every so often, and generating more snowballs when he didn't.

-"Baymax, can you see him, too?" -I asked.

-" _I read no biological signatures. However, visual contact was achieved once you explained what foe I needed to look for._ " -he said.

So, belief somewhat extended for artificial intelligences, too. I double checked my sensors, which, aside from the freak storm, could not detect the Winter Spirit. Great.

I shot a couple blasts from my wrists, which he easily dodged. I cursed; without targeting support, I would have to rely on static crosshairs. I was gonna have to look into a workaround once all this was over. Baymax shot a rocket fist, which also missed. The guy was very flexible, and even more agile. Fred kept shooting flames, as well, but the winds swept them away before they were too close to Frost's body. He smirked, shooting back an ice ray at Fred, who took it straight between the Kaiju eyes.

-"GEEZ, it's cold! Suit's frozen immediately, but it's warmed up just as quick. Those ice rays aren't joking around, guys." -he reported. Hiro frowned. It was time for a change in strategy.

-"Let's change it up. He's quick, agile, and powerful, but it looks like he depends on the staff. GoGo, _please_ tell me you can see him now." -I pleaded.

She grunted from effort, and I could see she'd just dodged a couple of blasts. "I definitely can. Still working on actually believing, but I can see the bastard. He's got good aim, but I'm faster than his shots." -she said.

I sighed, relieved. "Awesome, 'cause you're playing rabbit." -she groaned, and we all managed a chuckle. "We'll do this like we were going to beat Callaghan at first. Let's play capture the staff!" -I said, and we got to work.

To make full effect of our team, Frost needed to be closer to the ground, enough to facilitate Honey's aim, and within reasonable reach of Wasabi's blades. The aim was not to blow him up or skewer him, though; even if we could've done that, we didn't know if the guy was actually immortal, and we weren't out to kill anyone. Never had in two years. My wrist blaster gave a large burn, at most, and Baymax's rocket fists were intended only to keep an organic target unbalanced and running away, instead of shooting back.

Speaking of which, Baymax and I were busy. Shooting at will. Baymax shot right at the spirit, missing just narrowly behind him, and I overshot, just to keep him in a tight, controlled trajectory.

All credit to the Spirit of Winter, he was proving impossible to hit. But, apparently, he wasn't used to tactical thinking, because he flew right into the second stage of our trap.

He'd been flying in a circle, the blizzard lessening a bit. It seemed maintaining it required a large part of his concentration, so the strategy was paying off in another way. Good.

Frost flew counterclockwise, evading Wasabi's blade swipes, and even managing to shoot ice blasts back. My friend would cross the blades in front of him, immediately melting the ice beam against the hot plasma. GoGo zipped right ahead of him, and Frost switched targets, evidently frustrated that he couldn't do anything to Wasabi.

Spirit of Eternal Winter? Sure. Smart? Eh, debatable. Certainly not much of an experienced combatant.

Freddie, who'd been jumping around, trying to gather enough altitude for his signature move, signalled green on my HUD. I grinned; Gravity Crush was ready.

Before, this attack consisted simply of dropping from a certain height on top of a target, which proved highly ineffective, most of the time. Wanting to realize his dream, I'd given his feet springs a modified version of Baymax's thrusters, which gave him a boost for his jumps - and blasted him off downward, effectively turning Gravity Crush into a combat-ready move.

I could explain the physics. But even I have to admit it's nowhere near as entertaining as just watching it happen. And it did - Freddie executed the move perfectly. The whole team did, really. As Frost turned from spirit to pancake, the staff flew away, oddly losing the frost covering, and GoGo jumped up to snatch it.

The blizzard subsided almost immediately, the once green clearing covered completely in clean, white snow. Jack Frost lay still in the middle of a small crater, my Kaiju-suited friend dusting himself off. We all approached, weapons ready and pointed at the prone form.

-"Ow." -was all the figure said.

He rose, shaking his head, and popping his joints. He opened his hand, and the staff was ripped from GoGo's grip, flying to its master's hand.

He gave us an amused look. "When I said you guys had to beat me to the ground, I didn't expect you to take it literally. I gotta hand it to you guys, beating a Guardian in a fight is no easy feat. Even if I'm probably the easiest one." -he admitted.

I raised my eyebrow, slowly putting my blasters away. My team followed suit. "Can we have a serious, civil conversation now?" -I asked dryly.

The spirit rolled his eyes, floating slowly towards Jamie's house. "Serious...is a tall order for me. But I'll try my best. Wouldn't do to wreck my best friend's mansion, after all."


	6. Chapter 6

**Lots of crossover-y lore on this one. We finally find out why Elsa is so interesting, how spirits work in this world, and maybe a thing or two about the afterlife. It's cool, trust me. - Darthkvzn**

* * *

-"GoGo, don't you have something to say?" -asked Wasabi, sternly.

We were all gathered in the Imaginarium again, a few papers still strewn around the floor. GoGo bristled.

-"I'll say it when he says it." -she said stiffly.

Jamie chuckled. "If you're expecting Jack to apologize, we may be here awhile. He's the Guardian of Fun, and he just had the best time he's had in a few years."

Jack nodded, sitting beside Jamie, atop his staff. How he managed not to fall without balancing, I didn't know, and certainly couldn't explain. A _lot_ of things were turning out to be unexplainable about the Spirit of Winter.

-"Right." -I said, moving the conversation away from an imminent disaster. "Explanations now. We're Big Hero 6, a team of superheroes hailing from San Fransokyo, California. I'm Hiro Hamada, and these are GoGo Tomago, Wasabi No-Ginger, Fred Lee, and Honey Lemon. The robot nurse outside is Baymax, my personal healthcare companion. We're tracking an enhanced individual named Tadashi Hamada, my brother, who was revived and abducted by HYDRA, for a project named Sunfire, which involves another enhanced known only as the Snow Queen." -I explained, kind of tired of beating around the bush by now.

Frost rubbed his chin, pensively. "Just one correction. Her name's Elsa of Arendelle. Otherwise that sounds about right. We've been tracking her on our end. Went missing a long time ago, and that just doesn't happen in our world." -he said.

-"Who's we?" -asked Wasabi.

Frost smirked, jumping and landing on one foot on top of his staff. "The Guardians of Childhood, of course. There's Nicholas St. North, E. Aster Bunnymund, Sanderson McSnoozy, Queen Toothiana, and myself, Jackson Overland Frost." -he said, defying physics by bowing deeply.

-"Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Sandman, the Tooth Fairy, and Jack Frost." -numbered Fred, gleefully.

Jamie nodded. "Guardians of Wonder, Hope, Dreams, Memories and Fun, respectively. Spirits, chosen by the Man in the Moon to protect these traits in every child of the world, believer or not, naughty or nice, that they may reach adulthood, fully developed and happy." -he explained.

I thought about this for a few seconds. "Only six guardians? Queen Elsa is not a Guardian, then? How many spirits are there?" -I asked.

Frost sighed. "Yes, just six, so far. I'm the newest one, chosen about 25 years ago. Elsa has not been chosen. Not yet at least. And I have no idea how many spirits or otherwise magical creatures are on Earth. Thousands, at least. Can't say I've met or even seen them all. Maybe Manny has." -he answered.

I frowned. "Who's Manny?" -I asked, and GoGo piped behind me. "And just what is a spirit?" -she demanded.

Frost's face turned slightly downcast. "Manny is what we call the Man in the Moon. I honestly don't know much about him. He creates some of the spirits, though not all, and is the one who gave the Guardians their mission, warns us about the dangers we must protect the children from, and chooses new guardians, when the situation requires it."

Jamie continued. "As for what a spirit is, it is a creature, usually originally human, that has been brought back to life by magical means, immortal, and oftentimes granted superhuman abilities. Those that the Man in the Moon have created, for example, are usually given some measure of influence over an aspect of reality. Jack here is what I classify as a nature spirit, specifically, the Spirit of Winter. He brings the North Wind, snowfalls and the kind of cold that nips at your nose, but isn't quite dangerous."

Honey cocked her head. "That's...awfully specific."

Frost nodded. "It has to be. There are other beings that have influence over Winter, ice, wind and snow. Queen Elsa being one of them, though not...exactly...a spirit, like me. Lord Boreas and Lady Khione are other examples, but they are gods, and thus much more powerful than little old me. They tolerate our presence, as our effect isn't global, like theirs. What's a snow day in Burgess compared to an entire cold front in Europe?" -he said.

Jamie nodded, thoughtfully. "Raindrops in the sea." -he said, putting it in perspective.

I felt like sitting down. A man, creating incredibly powerful immortal spirits from the moon, which could directly affect reality at will? And they were nothing compared to actual gods and goddesses, which were apparently a thing, too? Just last night, the weirdest thing I'd ever seen was the inside of a pocket dimension, and _that_ seemed pretty insignificant now.

-"Where are they, though? Why haven't we seen any gods except for Thor? Who isn't an actual god, I might add." -asked GoGo, who'd lost her prickly tone, and sounded quite subdued at these revelations.

Frost looked at her strangely. "I can feel your belief, you know? It's so faint, I might vanish from your sight any second, now. I don't have all that many believers. A few tens of thousands, now, and I count myself lucky. The thing about spirits and gods...it's all depending on the human mind. Your thoughts are so much more powerful than any of you can ever realize. I can tell you that I once lived in this very part of town, three hundred and fifty years ago. I had a sister, named Elizabeth, and a mother, whose name I couldn't tell you. And I can tell you that I died, drowned in ice water, saving my sister from that same fate. I was a simple, poor human, and got turned into an immortal spirit of Winter so I could stop, more than three centuries after my rebirth, the Nightmare King, Pitch Black. Otherwise known as the Boogeyman."

He let a pregnant silence pass, then asked, with a smile. "Would you believe it?"

GoGo just blinked, crossing her arms with a lost look. "That's what I thought." -he said, then turned to me. "Gods and spirits have been here since humans developed thought, molding the world, keeping it spinning, so to speak. Many were once celebrated as the center of human civilizations, and now, few people even give them a second thought. What possible reason could they have to trust humanity with the secret of their existence? They're so filled with sadness, disappointment, and even rage at humanity, that some would rather fade away." -he argued sadly.

I felt like laughing bitterly; ten minutes ago, I hadn't known about these creatures, and now I couldn't help but pity them. It made so little sense, and yet I couldn't help but feel it was undeniably true.

Wanting to break the sad atmosphere, Honey spoke up. "You said Queen Elsa wasn't exactly a spirit. What is she, then?" -she asked, tentatively.

The Guardian of Fun looked sad, at some unseen memory. "Elsa is actually rather like one of your fellow superheroes. A fairly regular human cursed or blessed, depending on your point of view, with superhuman abilities. North told me the tale." -he said, then settled, cross-legged, on his staff.

"Once upon a time, the Frost Giants wished to conquer our world, Midgard, for their own. But we were under the protection of a fair, wise king, called Odin Borson. He ruled Asgard, land of the gods, and watched over the Nine Realms, as their Protector, their All-Father. Odin saw that the Jotuns were waging unfair war on the humans, one they could not hope to win. And so, the All-Father brought the might of the Aesir to Midgard, fighting the Frost Giants, and casting them down all the way back to their frozen palace, on the frigid wastes of Jotunheim. In the battles that ensued on this world, however, the humans took to arms alongside their Asgardian brethren, and it was in one of these battlefields where one noble soldier, an ancestor of the Queen, was struck by the raw power of the Frost King's most powerful weapon, the Casket of Ancient Winters, and survived. The mark of the artifact's power remained in his blood, and was passed down to his offspring, and their offspring, generation after generation. And then, one day, on a tiny city-state named Arendelle, a beautiful baby girl was born to the King and Queen, paler than death, and white of hair, like the purest of snows. The Royal family feared the death of their firstborn, but knew that not to be the case, as the babe drew her first breath, exhaling frost, and crying in rhythm to a magical snowstorm, inexplicably taking place inside the birthing room."

He looked at us. "That's how North told it, at least. Minus the accent, of course." -he said, sheepishly.

GoGo summed it up. "So a soldier was shot by an alien artifact, survived, and got his genes rewritten, until one day, one of his descendants turned out to have the powers of said artifact. Which is probably just a cryokinetic device."

Jack Frost smirked at her. "You keep telling yourself that, egghead." -GoGo bristled at this, but didn't retaliate. He turned towards us. "Elsa lived a long, successful life. It was a lonely one, but that's just who she was. But her powers had a catch she didn't know of. As long as she kept her powers contained, her body stayed frozen, and so she did not age, like her beloved sister did. When Princess Anna died, at 87 years old, Queen Elsa looked the part of a 25 year old."

"Her subjects had steadily grown wary of her unnatural ways, and when the princess passed away, the unrest only grew. Elsa wished to abdicate from the throne, leaving it to one of her nephews, but that year was a terrible one. Crops withered, commerce decayed, and, worst of all, winter was the worst since the Queen had taken the crown. A foreign prince led a witch hunt, and they caught her, sentencing her to death. When the sword pierced her, however, it let out all of her contained power, freezing the entire city-state, and killing everyone within a hundred leagues."

Jamie typed a few keys on his keyboard and the holo-display changed to reveal a frigid wasteland. "This is all that remains of Arendelle, now. A glacier in northern Norway, completely devoid of life. Cozy enough for Frost Giants."

Frost turned to me. "We've been looking for Elsa for the past few years because she is destined to take on my old responsibilities. The other Guardians were not responsible for any natural phenomena, but with me spreading and guarding fun instead of bringing snow days and the North Wind, the balance of nature is growing unsteady."

-"We're looking for her because we think my resurrected brother is, too. We find Elsa, we'll find Tadashi." -I said.

This piqued Jack Frost's interest. "Your brother was brought back to life? How did it happen?" -he asked, concernedly.

I winced. "He died in an explosion, trying to save someone in a burning building. A terrorist organization resurrected him with a kind of regenerating serum called Extremis. They only had the one dose, though."

Frost frowned, pacing back and forth, finally climbing down from his physics (and really, everything) defying staff.

-"This is troubling. We've heard whispers...that the dead are returning to life in concerning numbers." -he said.

Ok...as far as revelations went, the dead coming back to life wasn't all that shocking. Still a big WTF, sure, but not as bad as the whole gods and spirits deal.

He looked at our confused faces and sighed. "Look, I didn't tell you this, but Death has a rough time with this world. Humanity's so obsessed with it...there's too many death gods, roughly put. You've got Hades, Osiris, even that crazy dude down in México, Mickey...and _then_ there's Hela, who's got a timeshare with the Asgardians. The souls of the dead go every which way in this world, and that means some slip back to this side. Sometimes, it's a good thing, and that's why Death will usually overlook it, but lately, it's been happening too often. Something's up, and ol' Skull Face isn't happy."

Even Jamie looked completely stumped at that. My team and I, needless to say, were stuck in processing hell. "So...the afterlife is a thing?" -I asked, meekly.

Jack realized he'd run his mouth, and cursed. Being a Guardian of Childhood, however, meant his curses were adorable. Case and point: "Kittens on a handbasket, not again!"

He pinched his nose, closing his eyes. "Look, since there unfortunately isn't any kind of Men in Black memory thingy, we'll just agree to forget that ever happened, or the Guardians will be one member short, deal?" -he asked us.

We nodded, dumbly.

Frost shook his head again. "North always says 'Watch mouth, Jack. It tends to run, yes?' but nooo, I never listen." -he rambled, switching to a decent russian accent midway through.

He looked at us. "Make sure you're geared up, and clear your schedules. We're going to Headquarters...it's fairly obvious that we need to join forces with you guys. Mutual benefit, y'know?"

I nodded, still reeling from the sheer magnitude of the offhanded revelation. Frost _whooshed_ past us, and we followed suit, double checking our equipment.

I pursed my lips, as I adjusted my helmet again. This mission had a lot of unknowns. And, being in the business for two years, I'd learned something very important.

A lot of unknowns usually meant a lot of casualties.

* * *

 **There are references, in no particular order, to Percy Jackson, the MCU and Harry Potter here. They're not too overt, but they're there. Hopefully that isn't a dealbreaker!**


End file.
